It’s bee swarm season, and local beekeepers are reminding you not to panic, they will come and remove swarms safely.

Jay Ide and James Deming showed off one of the former bee swarms they saved as part of the Tulsa Swarm Hotline.

“For the most part, you don’t mess with them, they don’t mess with you, whereas wasps and hornets are oftentimes highly territorial and aggressive,” Ide said.

Ide and Deming started the Tulsa Swarm Hotline eight years ago.

“We were already beekeepers, we thought, we’re already catching swarms of our own and those that know us, lets spread the word and get it out to the rest of the community,” Deming said.

Hundreds of beekeepers are part of the hotline and if you call them, they send someone over to catch your swarm.

“This year’s particularly bad, not just for us, but beekeepers across the country,” Deming said.

They said nationally, it’s estimated 70% of managed bee colonies died over the fall and winter.

“We’re seeing evidence of that here in Tulsa, not only did we lose more colonies, not 70% but we feel like we’re getting less swarms than normal,” Deming said.

The Tulsa Swarm Hotline number is 918-981-BEES.